Asian Sturgeon Poachers Post Online Video

Warning

The San Francisco Chronicle’s online portal (SFGate.com) featured a story about sturgeon poaching in the Delta in which the not-so-brite lawbreakers posted their illegal activities on Youtube:

You don’t have to watch very long to notice the language being spoken is not English, but rather something Asian, perhaps Vietnamese. No mention of the diversity angle from the outdoors reporter though, even though cultures without a conservationist tradition (most of them) are often poacher perps, although one sees many Russians in the sturgeon trade rather than Asians.

They see America’s limits on hunting and fishing as laws for citizens only, sucker stuff. When species are about to be wiped out, foreign foragers’ urge is to grab what they can get before everything is gone. Protected natural spaces, like national parks, are likewise disrespected by illegal pickers and Mexican cartel marijuana growers.

–Keeping a protected species out of the water for at least five minutes

–Apparently killing the fish, since it is never shown being released

–[on the deck of the boat in the background, there also appears to be undersize white sturgeon]

As is often the case in diversity subjects, the comments on SFGate.com can be more informative than the official text. yzer observed (7/2):

I go onto the California Delta for days at a time on my small cruiser. I’ve done this for many years. I’ve seen Asian fishermen on the water during just about every trip.

These guys are commercial fishermen. Fishing on the Delta is their livelihood. I see them out there every day, day after day. The fish (and crawdads) end up in the mom and pop Asian food markets in the SF Bay and Sacramento/Stockton regions. They keep and sell just about every species they catch.

Commercial fishing in the CA Delta has been outlawed since the late 1950’s.

Look, poaching in the California Delta is nothing new. It’s gone on for years. I remember a group of sturgeon poachers who were going after roe (for caviar). They were busted several years ago. This group was made up of Russian immigrants. They we supplying wealthy customers in the SF Bay area.

Enforcement of fishing laws are undermined by constant budget cuts to CA Fish and Game.